"Anonymous" wrote in message
newsan.2005.01.10.22.40.31.66667@notarealserver. com...
I read what Russ has to say and I agree that CA has no place in segmented
/ larger turnings. However, even Russ agrees that it is suitable for
hardening spalted / soft woods and that is my current concern.

I am already using thin CA straight from the bottle. I was / am hoping
someone knows how to thin it without losing too much strength so that I
might have a reasonable assurance that its hardening properties extend all
the way down to the brass tube of a pen. I have plenty of accelerator,
perhaps someone knows of a retardant?


You're sort of fighting nature here. Wood is made to move water along the
grain, not across it. The stomata which allow movement across the grain are
small, and have a tendency to close with loss of cytoplasm. You'd stand a
better chance of getting what you want by feeding fluid into the end grain
of the pen. Might even use heat or a vacuum to help.

As to slowing the cure, acid woods like oak and cherry do it, and the
accelerant supplies OH(-) ions, as does the moisture that cures it. So get
something to provide an excess of H(+) and see what happens.